Cedar Point (CP) Discussion Thread

[AmyUD06]

The old ones were PIN based...if it didn't ruin your memory of your locker number and PIN before it won't now.  Jeez.

Give it two days; I'm sure someone here is going to the park on opening day and can report.

[MartinU]

Happy Opening day! Anyone going today, have fun! I'm sitting by my computer this morning watching the live cam on the side. Does anyone else wish that there was a really good microphone on these cams to hear the B&M roars and seagulls? Just me? 

Planning to get out there in August this year. So, until then... #rideon

[prozach626]

On 5/13/2021 at 5:13 AM, tndank said:

Really wish I could just watch SV opening weekend to see people dealing with the lockers. This latest experiment looks a bit crazy. Interested to see how the new lockers work out. 

The filter won't work anymore, no matter how hard you try.

[rachelmadcow]

You guys aren't talking about the Gerstlauer that was announced that youtubers are thinking is going to Cedar Point and will likely go for the inversion record a-la Smiler and will be placed by the Marina I think they said? 

[prozach626]

what?

[Canobie Coaster]

I'm excited to hear how the lockers turn out since I heard Cedar Fair did something similar with Twisted Timbers.  I'm glad the park listened to guest feedback and found (what's likely to be) a better solution.

[AmyUD06]

7 hours ago, Canobie Coaster said:

I'm excited to hear how the lockers turn out since I heard Cedar Fair did something similar with Twisted Timbers.  I'm glad the park listened to guest feedback and found (what's likely to be) a better solution.

The last time Twisted Timbers ran, in 2019, they did nothing similar to what is being done at SV.  There was a metal detector in the station - if it went off, they handed you a red card.  If it didn't, you got a green one.  When you got into the train and had a red card, the operators watched you put your cell phone in the under-seat pouch.  Or not...I never had anyone say anything to me despite having plenty of red cards.

[anonymouscactus]

I didn't get to ride SV today as it broke down when I was back there, but I saw someone take pictures of the kiosk screens. It seems you enter your birthdate and then pick a "security image" ie: a fish, a star, etc. Doesn't seem to be PIN based on a traditional sense. I didn't see it myself, though.

[Carrie]

So how were the crowds for today?  We are going to go next Friday and are trying to decide if we should do FLP or not.  Of course, we were going to wait, though, until maybe Wednesday to purchase tickets so we can get a better feel for the weather.  Obviously, with having to have reservations, we don't want to get burned if it rains.  Heard a lot was down today?

[anonymouscactus]

Crowds were very heavy for preseason. For example, BLUE STREAK had a full queue, Gatekeeper and Millennium force were about an hour and hour and a half when we were there, I'd guess, at the absolute minimum. I picked a bad time for Gemini as they started opening up the second trains but they took 15 min x 2 to get all the sand bags out. Would have been at least an hour in the regular line. Magnum wasn't too bad it was only 6 or so switchbacks though it got busier later on. TTD never opened. Valravn even the FASTLANE was spilling into the midway so I skipped it . Raptor had a huge line and they were transferring trains when I got there. FL+ was quick  Very thankful for FL+ today, for sure. Maverick and SV were down while we were in frontier town bouncing around the food stuff. Food and drink lines were out of control since a lot of places are closed, but that seems to be par for the course at all parks recently

I'll hopefully get on everything else I missed today, tomorrow. FL+ was a huge help just bad luck on the big 3. I have season FL+ so I'll have it tomorrow which I'm guessing will be even busier. We left around 5 to go get dinner outside the park (great meal at BARRA)

I can't imagine going to this park without it given the crowd levels. I've been to opening weekends in the past but usually go on Sunday. This was my first opening day and it was way worse then any preseason Sunday I've been to. But I'm guessing this year will be a lot busier all around.

[Carrie]

38 minutes ago, anonymouscactus said:

Crowds were very heavy for preseason. For example, BLUE STREAK had a full queue, Gatekeeper and Millennium force were about an hour and hour and a half when we were there, I'd guess, at the absolute minimum. I picked a bad time for Gemini as they started opening up the second trains but they took 15 min x 2 to get all the sand bags out. Would have been at least an hour in the regular line. Magnum wasn't too bad it was only 6 or so switchbacks though it got busier later on. TTD never opened. Valravn even the FASTLANE was spilling into the midway so I skipped it . Raptor had a huge line and they were transferring trains when I got there. FL+ was quick  Very thankful for FL+ today, for sure. Maverick and SV were down while we were in frontier town bouncing around the food stuff. Food and drink lines were out of control since a lot of places are closed, but that seems to be par for the course at all parks recently

I'll hopefully get on everything else I missed today, tomorrow. FL+ was a huge help just bad luck on the big 3. I have season FL+ so I'll have it tomorrow which I'm guessing will be even busier. We left around 5 to go get dinner outside the park (great meal at BARRA)

I can't imagine going to this park without it given the crowd levels. I've been to opening weekends in the past but usually go on Sunday. This was my first opening day and it was way worse then any preseason Sunday I've been to. But I'm guessing this year will be a lot busier all around.

Yikes!!  Back in the day, May was dead !  It was on and off things!   Of course, when they opened in the past, it was 7 days a week.   How were things with the fast lane and fast lane plus??  I am not so sure I even want to go now.  I don't do lines well and I do NOT want to drop big bucks on FLP if it is no better! 

[BRTeller]

6 hours ago, Carrie said:

Yikes!!  Back in the day, May was dead !  It was on and off things!   Of course, when they opened in the past, it was 7 days a week.   How were things with the fast lane and fast lane plus??  I am not so sure I even want to go now.  I don't do lines well and I do NOT want to drop big bucks on FLP if it is no better! 

Lines were bad, but FastLane made it bearable. Every coaster that I saw for the day for standby had an hour plus wait though. As we were leaving people were planning their days for the rest of the weekend so they could ride 3 coasters in one day. 
 

Fast Lane kept lines to about 15 to 20 minutes on most major coasters. Most rides listed wait times for longer, but many times we got on in five minutes with it. I would not plan a day without it and on days like today. They do tend to sell out later on. 
 

Operations were good though, some slow areas. For opening day though they got through the lines fairly well. Rides were down though. TTD ran but never opened to the public, appeared it was under going an inspection of sorts since they kept cycling trains. Rougarou didn’t have a train on the track, MaxAir was torn apart, Windseeker appeared to be going through inspections as well. A lot of the rides were slow to open with the park as well. 
 

if you want to ride any of the big four, do it early! The park closes both fast lane and the stand by line an hour before park closing. Millennium had an estimated 45 minute wait at 7 and they closed it regardless. I don’t think this is going to last though, a lot of people were upset including employees over it. 
 

Guest relations said that they weren’t supposed to close FL and are working to get all lines open to park close. Not in the generic Covid sense, but that they have a meeting setup this weekend to hopefully lift the restrictions. (Be polite and don’t be a Karen, but if you’re at the park try giving your feedback on the early closures!) The ride attendants pretty much said the same thing, that they don’t agree with it but it’s the rule for now and they asked us to leave a comment to guest relations. It’s interesting and kind of cool how the employees themselves at CP stand behind tradition within the park. They gave us passes for another day though so we definitely appreciated it and didn’t expect it. Hopefully this is a very short lived change to park operations especially when it’s so difficult to ride many of the coasters already. 
 

Covid doesn’t exist really at CP. I was shocked the vast difference in procedure closing day to opening day. Masks are not required in the park or on rides, only in buildings. Even in buildings it’s very loosely enforced as many people weren’t wearing masks. Social distancing is also non existent. For us, it’s not a huge deal, but if this does concern you just be aware when visiting the park. 
 

Ride operations also do not have Covid procedures or cleaning anymore. This was also a big reason people weren’t okay with the policy change on the major coasters early closing since operations are all normal and all rows are also open and they do seat separate groups together as well. 
 

The last note, SV lockers! So the new system is strange. I’m not sure why they wouldn’t repurpose snd add to the existing lockers due to the extreme operational increase, but here’s how it works. FL and stand by go through as normal, before the SV structure now they merge both lines similar to MF. You get placed into a short line for just the lockers and metal detectors, you put your items in the locker then they rejoin and separate you out based on FL or stand by again.

When you exit the ride you have to go back to the entrance and walk back to the lockers on the opposite side  

it’s strange to say the least and slow, we saw rows go out empty at times as they filled the lines back up. Growing pains Im sure and I doubt this will last. From what I saw this required 4 extra team members for this system. 
 

I’ll say this though, having your phone with you is nice. I personally need it for my diabetes since it operates as my monitor. Today in particular I didn’t realize I was going low and had to leave the line and wouldn’t of known otherwise. While my situation is a bit unique, people do rely on their phone for more than social media and I do appreciate this system allows me to keep it on me. 

[anonymouscactus]

Today at 1 the Maverick FL+ line wrapped around the corner towards the main entrance. I really think they are overselling but I guess it's hard to guess how many people have all-season that will be showing up. Either way, we waited about 40 min from FL entrance and that outside line  probably doubled that. It's a little crazy in these parts!

It's a Saturday, and everyone wants to get out of the house. Some cedar point is better than no cedar point.

Maverick is even better than what I remembered lol

[TopThrill182]

Yesterday was my first opening day visit to Cedar Point. After last year's dreary closing day (and what felt like an especially long winter), I felt great being back at the park and really enjoyed my visit.

BRTeller captures a lot of my thoughts well, but a few additional/reinforcing points (all from the perspective of someone with Fast Lane Plus):

• Most guests were unmasked outdoors (including on rides), but masked indoors. Virtually no one social distanced, and the midways felt packed. I didn't mind, but as BRTeller says, people should understand what they're getting themselves into and understand that the park doesn't seem to be enforcing masks or social distancing at all.  Interestingly, employee mask usage was very inconsistent. Many employees were wearing masks outdoors, but many weren't, and mask wearing almost seemed to vary by ride crew. I wonder what the official employee policy is.
   
• I didn't wait in any, but the food and beverage lines all looked insanely long, longer than I've ever seen before. 
   
• Maybe it's an opening weekend phenomenon with so many enthusiasts at the park, but Fast Lane (Plus) seemed oversold. It seemed like almost half of all riders had it, defeating its purpose.
   
• Steel Vengeance's new locker system allows riders to keep their phones in line without reducing the ride's capacity; however, the Fast Lane Plus line is now longer than it was before (due to the addition of a Millennium Force ramp-like merged line), and the process of merging and re-splitting the FLP and standby lines feels clunky. But the park looks to have invested a lot in these modifications, so I expect them to stick.
   
• Beware: the early ride closures are no joke, at least if opening day is any indication. It seems like the park wants to cycle all riders off all rides by park close. I got off Skyhawk 8 minutes prior to park close and immediately started running to find something else to get in line for. I managed to pass several rides in those 8 minutes, but not only were all the lines already closed, most of the lines (e.g. Maverick, Millennium Force) were already nearly empty. Some rides (e.g. Iron Dragon, Derby Downs) had already seemingly powered down! I entered what seemed like an open and short Power Tower line 2 minutes prior to close, but an attendant immediately ran out to shoo me away. I understand this is an unusual year for the park with limited staff (and money?); however, I think the park needs to be more upfront about and consistent with these early closures, especially considering it's such a shift from the park's pre-pandemic policy of keeping all ride lines open until 5 to 10 minutes after close. For example, the park could post "this ride closes [x] hour(s) before park close" at ride entrances, or simply shorten the park hours. But saying the park closes at 8pm when there's little to do after 7pm seems dishonest to me, and if the overflowing Guest Services line is any indication, bad for customer relations. Also, it may be a coincidence, but this was the most congested exit (park and parking lot) I've ever experienced outside of Halloweekends.

[tanthonyam]

I cant believe people wait in those ridiculous lines.

[rachelmadcow]

On 5/14/2021 at 9:42 AM, prozach626 said:

what?

Gersty announced a huge Infinity coaster would be coming to an American park in 2022. Most are assuming it's CP due to Six Flags not dealing with Gerstlauer 

[ytterbiumanalyst]

^ What?

[rachelmadcow]

wonderful news about the social distancing. 

[rachelmadcow]

Just now, ytterbiumanalyst said:

^ What?

 

[ytterbiumanalyst]

I know about the Gerstlauer announcement. I want to know what you're smoking so I know which strains to avoid.

[Carrie]

4 hours ago, TopThrill182 said:

Yesterday was my first opening day visit to Cedar Point. After last year's dreary closing day (and what felt like an especially long winter), I felt great being back at the park and really enjoyed my visit.

BRTeller captures a lot of my thoughts well, but a few additional/reinforcing points (all from the perspective of someone with Fast Lane Plus):

• Most guests were unmasked outdoors (including on rides), but masked indoors. Virtually no one social distanced, and the midways felt packed. I didn't mind, but as BRTeller says, people should understand what they're getting themselves into and understand that the park doesn't seem to be enforcing masks or social distancing at all.  Interestingly, employee mask usage was very inconsistent. Many employees were wearing masks outdoors, but many weren't, and mask wearing almost seemed to vary by ride crew. I wonder what the official employee policy is.
   
• I didn't wait in any, but the food and beverage lines all looked insanely long, longer than I've ever seen before. 
   
• Maybe it's an opening weekend phenomenon with so many enthusiasts at the park, but Fast Lane (Plus) seemed oversold. It seemed like almost half of all riders had it, defeating its purpose.
   
• Steel Vengeance's new locker system allows riders to keep their phones in line without reducing the ride's capacity; however, the Fast Lane Plus line is now longer than it was before (due to the addition of a Millennium Force ramp-like merged line), and the process of merging and re-splitting the FLP and standby lines feels clunky. But the park looks to have invested a lot in these modifications, so I expect them to stick.
   
• Beware: the early ride closures are no joke, at least if opening day is any indication. It seems like the park wants to cycle all riders off all rides by park close. I got off Skyhawk 8 minutes prior to park close and immediately started running to find something else to get in line for. I managed to pass several rides in those 8 minutes, but not only were all the lines already closed, most of the lines (e.g. Maverick, Millennium Force) were already nearly empty. Some rides (e.g. Iron Dragon, Derby Downs) had already seemingly powered down! I entered what seemed like an open and short Power Tower line 2 minutes prior to close, but an attendant immediately ran out to shoo me away. I understand this is an unusual year for the park with limited staff (and money?); however, I think the park needs to be more upfront about and consistent with these early closures, especially considering it's such a shift from the park's pre-pandemic policy of keeping all ride lines open until 5 to 10 minutes after close. For example, the park could post "this ride closes [x] hour(s) before park close" at ride entrances, or simply shorten the park hours. But saying the park closes at 8pm when there's little to do after 7pm seems dishonest to me, and if the overflowing Guest Services line is any indication, bad for customer relations. Also, it may be a coincidence, but this was the most congested exit (park and parking lot) I've ever experienced outside of Halloweekends.

SOOOOOO....any thoughts or predictions for next weekend?  We are supposed to go Friday, but I am seriously considering going in June during the week once they expand their hours/days.  Not sure if that would be better or not?

 

 

[prozach626]

I think it's anyone's guess for now. I wouldn't even bother without Fastlane Plus.

[coasterbill]

So how early have they been cutting ride lines? It seems like they’ve been posting a wait time until park close for everything in the app even after they close the rides to get people to walk over there and give them one final kick in the balls on the way out. 

I love that actual news stations are dragging them for their horrible opening weekend. I don’t really feel bad for anyone who went in with unreasonable expectations as this happens every single year, but I enjoy watching them get called out for it.

[dankeykang]

From what I'm seeing elsewhere, it sounds like yesterday Steel Vengeance's line was closed around 5:45, and several other major coasters were closed off around 6:30 (park closed at 8).

[tndank]

If they have the line at 1.5 hours , they will rope it off 1.5 hours before close.

Then, when they have an empty queue at 7:30 or 7:45, they will let folks still around ride some more til close at 8.

Goal is have all rides done at close.  Seems like people bitched enough last year that KI quit doing this.  Not so lucky at The Point.